Charles Leclerc at the Singapore GP's press conference - Photo: Race Pictures

Leclerc delivers verdict on Ferrari’s Singapore GP qualy woes

18:29, 04 Oct

Updated: 20:17, 04 Oct

bySamson Ero

Charles Leclerc is at a loss to explain why Ferrari are so far behind their rivals after a disappointing qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix. The Scuderia Ferrari driver is upset at the team's lacklustre finish to the campaign after struggling to find consistency.

“We never found the solution, unfortunately.”

- Charles Leclerc

Leclerc explained how the team experimented with several setup changes to maximise performance during their Q3 run but was ultimately only good enough for seventh on the grid. The Monegasque also described how unpredictable the car felt during the session.

He said: “We never found the solution, unfortunately. I tried to find consistency in that car throughout the whole weekend, but there was no way out. In Q3, I said, let's try something a little bit stupid with the front wing, try and rotate the car.

“Anyway, it's unpredictable with understeer; it will still be unpredictable with oversteer, but at least I prefer that. I managed to do a good lap on the scrubbed tyres, but then I put on the new ones and the feeling was completely different.

Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari garage - Photo: Race Pictures

“[It was] Very surprising because I know whether it’s Baku or Singapore, these are two of my favourite tracks of the season where I’ve performed particularly well. Also, as a team, we usually perform particularly well. But these last two weekends have been off the pace.”

Leclerc: ‘Not a nice feeling’

The 27-year-old acknowledged that it wasn’t something to enjoy being so far off the pace; however, he remains focused on trying to get the team back to its best.

“It's not a nice feeling when you put in a really good lap and you are P6 or P7. When you make a small mistake in Q1, you are out, and this is the kind of situation we're in at the moment. It's not something that I enjoy, but it's a situation where I need to give my best and try to bring the team back to the top. It's not easy.”

His Ferrari teammate, Lewis Hamilton, went one better to secure a sixth-place starting position for the race.

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